Thursday, March 21, 2019

0

STL denounces use of violence against its investigators

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Prosecutor General Daniel Bellemare’s office denounced the “use of violence” against two of its investigators and their interpreter during an incident in Dahiyeh, saying that the event will not deter the office’s investigation.

A group of women charged at STL investigators at a Beirut gynecology clinic in Dahiyeh on Wednesday morning and grabbed a briefcase from them, AFP reported.

The STL’s statement said its team had obtained approval from Lebanese authorities for its visit to the doctor’s office as a “legitimate step in [the STL’s] ongoing investigation,” and that the doctor had received approval from the Beirut Order of Physicians and agreed to the meeting.

“The session with the doctor was conducted in a respectful manner. During the meeting, a large group of people showed up unexpectedly and violently attacked the investigators and their female interpreter,” the statement said.

“Several items belonging to [Bellemare’s office] staff were stolen during the attack,” it added.

The three team members were extracted by the Lebanese army and received medical attention at the STL’s office in Beirut, the statement also said.